The COVID-19 pandemic has caused sudden and unprecedented uncertainty for all of humanity. We, at the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) team, decided early on that we had to adopt measures to support each other during these extraordinary times.
We started discussions with our global Inclusion Ambassadors* group, to brainstorm solutions that could help the organization as a whole, as well as associates at the individual level to better cope with growing insecurities and changing circumstances. The deliberations helped us foment several ideas, including frequently posting articles on our Intranet portal, holding regular video conferences for face-to-face interactions, reaching out to at least two people in a day, expressing gratitude more frequently, and beginning every meeting by sharing something good and positive.
Additionally, in North America (NAM), we launched a survey to help us understand how our associates were coping with the changing world scenario and what was on their minds. The study inspired us to develop a virtual “water cooler” series that focused on issues such as ensuring well-being during a crisis, maintaining resiliency, managing children while working from home, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, dealing with isolation, and many more. This initiative was designed to help associates remain connected and provide a platform for individuals to share ideas and tips and tricks in an informal environment. With the success of the water cooler series in NAM, we intend to launch the initiative in each geography with the help of the local Inclusion Ambassadors.
As we look around the organization, it is incredibly heartening to see everyone contributing and helping each other. Numerous examples illustrate the progress that we have made in our pursuit of being an inclusive organization—we just have to look around us!
* A group of associates from multiple locations that work toward transforming the culture of Cyient—by focusing on Diversity and Inclusion—across a few core areas such as recruitment, leadership, unconscious bias, and the like. The Inclusion Ambassador program has evolved into an overwhelming success, winning many accolades and awards along the way. Find out more here.
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